MY LETU STORY: Alayna Galloway

NOTE: This is part of a series on letuathletics.com with feature stories written by senior student-athletes about their time at LeTourneau and the impact it has made on them.

By: Alayna Galloway | Sr. | Women's Cross Country/Track & Field

As senior year has come to pass, I have done a lot of reflecting. 

I have reflected on who I am now and how I have grown since that little freshman that walked on campus and thought she knew everything. I have reflected on the friendships that I’ve made, the ones that have ended and the ones that I hope will never end. I’ve reflected on those times that I thought my world was ending (when it never really was), whether it was because I failed a test, I ran a time that was slower than what I wanted or even when I thought I chose the wrong major. 

All of my reflections have brought me to one conclusion: Just as there is a time before you knew Christ, before you knew the depth and might of God’s love and mercy, and there is a time after where your life is forever changed. There is a time before LeTourneau, and a time after LeTourneau that I know is going to leave me forever changed. 

For me, leaving my high school cross country and track team was heartbreaking because we were all best friends. I didn’t think that was necessarily going to be the case when I got to college. I am so glad that I was proven wrong. My teammates are one of the biggest blessings that LeTourneau has given me. They push me to be better in every circumstance. In the busy and in the mundane, they are there to live life with me. They walk beside me as I walk with the Lord, they run beside me on the hard days and the easy days, and they pick me back up whenever I have fallen.

It is the people at LeTourneau that are going to leave me changed the most. There are so many people that have changed my story the way my teammates have. 

The professors that I’ve had truly care so much about their students. They want you to succeed in your academics, but so much more than that they want you to grow in your relationship with Christ. You see it every single day, from a professor that will stop in the hallway just to pray for you and with you to a professor giving a devo that was exactly what you needed to hear because they know you and care about you. I often sit astounded at the beginning of class because it is like my professor knew exactly what I was thinking and what I was going through, which they probably did, but they also let God guide their words to touch our hearts. 

The coaches at LeTourneau are similar. I think the athletics department mission statement describes what they want the best, it is to cultivate disciples and pursue excellence. They want to see you excel in your sport and to win championships, but first and foremost they want to help you cultivate a life rooted in Christ. 

My coach specifically has made such a lasting impact on my life. On days when I wanted to quit or thought I wasn’t good enough, he was there to tell me otherwise and to encourage me in truth and in scripture. He truly is a coach who cares so deeply for his athletes and their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. He prays for each of us, is there to celebrate our wins, and picks us up after our defeats. He is the type of coach that exemplifies what it means to be part of the LeTourneau athletics department.

Each year I hear stories of everyone’s favorite thing about LeTourneau and so many say the people. I used to think that was silly. I thought “well of course you like the people that you like.” 

I was lucky enough to get a roommate that turned into my best friend, so I assumed many others did as well and that was the kind of thing they were referring to. It wasn’t until later that I really understood what everyone meant. It is a blessing, that I think many of us often take lightly, to be surrounded by so many like-minded individuals. To be in constant relationship with others that want to build you up and pour into you is life changing. 

There was a time before LeTourneau University and there will be a time after, and my life will be forever changed because of it. 

Alayna Galloway